Lesson Eight: “Aaron”
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What's on for today and why?
In Chapters Seven and Eight, the reader sees the connection that Nico has with the books in Goldengrove, and is also able to decipher the importance that the painting book has to Nico; Nico uses the painting book as an escape from reality, and is easily able to get lost within the beautiful imagery. In addition, the reader is also able to get a closer look at Aaron, and analyze the type of person he is. Nico finds that Aaron is the only person in the world that seems to understand her; each of them has their own separate connection to Margaret, but it is the similarities in these connections that bring them together. Aaron is the only person that Nico feels she can talk freely to. It is almost as if she feels that the rest of the world has continued to live, while her and Aaron are unable to move. This is the beginning of Nico and Aaron's “experiments” with trying to get over their grief of losing Margaret. Nico, who has taken to lying in order to be with Aaron, wrestles with her inner conscience over whether or not lying to her parents is a good idea. Using Elaine as an accomplice, Nico succeeds in laying down the groundwork for her and Aaron's “experiments”.
Today, the students are going to be analyzing the interactions between Nico and Aaron, paying special attention to the descriptions of their body language while they are having a conversation. In groups, the students are going to perform their own “dumb show” versions of the scene between Nico and Aaron in the ice cream parlor; since these will be “dumb shows”, there will be no words involved. This will allow the students to experience the importance of movements and language; without using language to describe how we are feeling, all we have is our movements and actions. Though this assignment will be challenging for the students, it is important for them to understand just how significant language really is, and how much we rely on it for our daily communication. Nico feels as if she can only speak freely about Margaret's death with Aaron; the students will be performing their scenes as if Nico has no words at all. How will they try to express her grief? Aaron's grief? They will have to work together as a team in order to create the proper message they are trying to convey.
What To Do:
1.Enter the Dumbshow:
Today, before discussing the homework, the class will jump right into their activity. They will be broken up into groups of six or seven, given the size of the class, and will be told to re-read the scene in the ice cream parlor, which takes place starting on page 112, beginning with “a girl,” and ending on page 114, with “respect”. Then, as a group, the students will have 10 minutes to create a narration for the scene, and to figure out how they want to perform it. They will not be able to use dialogue within the scene; thus, they must create certain clues within their narration that will tell the actors how to move, and what emotions to show. Their performance cannot go longer than 5 minutes in length. After 10 minutes have passed, the groups will perform their dumb shows.
2. Group Discussion:
After all of the groups have performed their dumbshows, the students will discuss the effectiveness of the activity as a class. Was it hard to perform a scene without using any dialogue? Was it hard to come up with a narration in such a short amount of time? How does this activity change your perception of the relationship between Nico and Aaron, with respect to their body language? These questions will fuel the discussion of Chapters Seven and Eight, and will allow the class to explore the different interpretations of Nico and Aaron's relationship. How do the other characters see their relationship? Does Nico feel that Aaron is truly trying to have a relationship with her? Or is Aaron simply trying to reconnect with Margaret on any level that he possibly can?
After discussing these chapters and questions, the students will add to their both Aaron and Elaine to their character maps, giving a brief list of character traits for each. After they have completed this task, the students will be given a handout, describing their homework for the evening.
3. Homework:
In addition to reading their assigned chapters and writing their journal entries, the students will be informed that they will be reciting Margaret's poem into the Audacity program, in order to make a recording of it. They will be given a handout, which would appear as follows:
Say it Out Loud!
Now that you're experts at voice recording, it's time to have some fun with it! Your assignment is to recite Margaret's poem, found on page 90, in your own voice, using the Audacity technology software. In addition, you will have to pick one song to serve as a background for your reading; it can be a song that you have already spoken about in your journal entries, or a completely new and different song. Just make sure that the song is saved to your computer! Here are the instructions:
1. Go to www.audacity.sourceforge.net and download the latest version of Audacity
2. Once the program is done installing, you will find the red “record” button at the top left of your screen. When you are ready to record your reading, simply press the “record” button; hit stop when you have finished. If you don't like your recording, you can delete it and record again. Do this as many times as you feel is necessary to get your perfect reading. You have the freedom to use different inflections, different voices, or different sound effects in order to spice up your reading. Be sure to save your work!
3. Now that you have laid down the main track, find a song that you want to use as your background music. Once you have chosen a song, go to the “tracks” tab at the top of your window and click “add new audio track”. You will then be able to import your song into the Audacity program. Play with the volume controls until you feel that you have them where you want them. After you are done, save your work!
4. Once you have completely created your Audacity track, upload it to your journal, using the “embed media” button under the “Rich Text” tab. This button looks like a CD, and is located directly next to the “image” button.
Congratulations! You've created your own audio track!
The students will read Chapters 9 and 10. When reading these chapters, the students should keep the following questions in mind:
1. How is Nico acting around Aaron? Is she honestly still obsessed over her sister's death, or is she acting like a giddy school girl with a crush? Explain.
2. Describe Aaron's studio. What does Nico think of it? Is any of it reminiscent of Margaret in any way? If so, how?
3. From here, Chapter Nine goes in to a detailed description of Bogart's Casablanca. Why does Prose choose to do this? Other than it being one of her favorite movies, how does the movie tie in to Margaret's situation? To the tension between Nico and Aaron? Explain.
4. Chapter Nine is also the first time the reader is able to see the vanilla oil. What is the symbolism of this scent? How does it tie Nico, Margaret, and Aaron together?
5. Nico and her father decide to take the trip to see “The Great Disappointment” together. What is their relationship like? What makes you think this way? Give examples.
6. How was “The Great Disappointment” a great disappointment? What is the symbolism behind this?
How Did it Go?
Through the “dumb show” activity, the students were able to practice their performing skills, and were able to connect with the text on a level that they may not have known existed. They were able to realize the importance and power of language, since they had to rely on their body language in order to get their meaning across. The students were also able to work cooperatively in groups, in order to come up with the best solution to completing their assignment. In addition, the students were able to discuss the chapters in depth, and come to conclusions as a class as to the relationship between Nico and Aaron. Though it is a little too early to jump to conclusions, the students were able to make predictions as to what they think will happen between Nico and Aaron, and had evidence from the novel in order to support their predictions. The students were also introduced to the Audacity program, and are hopefully excited to create their own audio tracks. These audio tracks will be graded out of 100 points, depending on effort and creativity.
